Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian academic and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (b. 1861)
Madan Mohan Malaviya (pronunciation (25 December 1861 – 12 November 1946) was an Indian scholar, educational reformer and politician notable for his role in the Indian independence movement, as the four times president of Indian National Congress and the founder of Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha. He was respectfully addressed by the title Pandit and also addressed as Mahamana.Malaviya strived to promote modern education among Indians and eventually co-founded the Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in 1916, which was created under the B.H.U. Act, 1915. It is the largest residential university in Asia and one of the largest in the world, having over 40,000 students across arts, commerce, sciences, engineering, linguistic, Ritual, medicine, agriculture, performing arts, law, management, and technology from all over the world. He was the vice chancellor of the Banaras Hindu University from 1919 to 1938.Malaviya was one of the founders of the Bharat Scouts and Guides. He also founded a highly influential, English newspaper, The Leader published from Allahabad in 1909. He was also the Chairman of Hindustan Times from 1924 to 1946. His efforts resulted in the launch of its Hindi edition named Hindustan Dainik in 1936.He was posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, on 24 December 2014, one day before his 153rd birth anniversary.